Week in Review
What a win! The Sun Devils put together a solid defensive effort against a formidable Washington State offense to hold them under 30 points. On the other side of the ball, the Devils had their best offensive performance of the season by far, putting up 38 points on over 500 yards of offense. Things seemed to be firing on all cylinders as the makeshift offensive line overcame all of its adversity to lead the way for over 200 yards of rushing and keeping Trenton Bourguet protected as he threw for 274 yards, putting a few big throws right on the money. ASU looked better than they have all season, and that goes for the uniforms as well.
The black-based Ghost Story alternates were a sharp look and definitely worked with the fact that Halloween was a mere few days away. The glow-in-the-dark component could be briefly seen if one was looking hard for it after touchdowns and during the light show between the third and fourth quarters when the LED stadium lights flickered on and off for effect. Outside of that, the glowing gimmick did not make any real appearances throughout the night.
The glow wasn’t necessary. The Devils looked good with the gold helmets with black decals and facemask atop the black jerseys and pants. While I mentioned last week that I felt I would have preferred a white helmet to stay on the ghost theme, I was actually happier watching the gold lids on Frank Kush Field as Arizona State put the Cougars away. It was a fun, impactful look that can be fondly remembered in a tough season as the uniform in which Kenny Dillingham and the 2023 Sun Devils earned their first conference win. From what I’ve heard, this uniform is a one-timer, and it did its job. Looked good and played good.
Ghost Story: B+
The Week to Come
Uniform
The upcoming game is against a Utah team looking to prove themselves after taking a slaughter at the hands of the Oregon Ducks. There has been terrible weather in ASU’s recent trips to Salt Lake City, but this weekend looks to be shaping up nicely, with an 11 a.m. kickoff forecasted to be in the low 60s with little to no chance of rain. The biggest challenge the Sun Devils will face is that stout, aggressive Utah defense. The Ute offense has had its ups and downs, and one can hope that the Sun Devil defense can continue to play well and take advantage of that. When they travel to take on Utah, the Sun Devils will be wearing a classic gold helmet/white jersey/gold pant combination.
The white jersey features the Arizona state flag as a stripe feature on either side of the uniform. It is a tonal gray with the rays leading up and fading into the armpit, the star around the base of the rib cage, and the river block running downward and eventually fading towards the waist. In a move towards an even more simplified design, adidas has opted not to include any identifying letter or wordmark on the jersey.
The white jerseys feature maroon player numbers outlined in gold on both the front and back of the jersey, as well as the TV numbers on the sleeves. Though it may be hard to see, the numbers on the front and back of the jerseys have a subtle, tonal flame pattern within the maroon. The Sun Devils will also have the option to wear white hand warmers with Sparky on them around their hips.
The nameplate on the back of the jersey utilizes the black Sun Devil Bold font. On the front of the jersey, near the left shoulder, is a maroon adidas logo. Near the right shoulder is a maroon and gold Pac-12 shield. Last but not least, at the base of the collar is the black PT*42 shield in honor of ASU Football legend Pat Tillman.
The gold pants have a large gold pitchfork with maroon trim on the right thigh and a maroon adidas logo near the left hip.
Helmet
The Sun Devils will wear gold helmets that feature standard-sized white pitchfork decals with maroon trim and a center stripe with an inverse colorway, as maroon is the main stripe outlined by white on either side. The facemask is white, and the front bumper has a white base and maroon word mark outlined in gold that reads “Sun Devils.”
The decals on the back of the helmet include an American flag, a white Pac 12 shield, a white PT*42 shield honoring the legendary Sun Devil, Pat Tillman, and a white outlined Warning label which is in the shape of the state of Arizona, featuring white text, and has a small, white silhouette pitchfork over Tempe. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded out by the maroon “Arizona State” wordmark outlined in gold over a white base on the helmet’s rear bumper.
Cleats and Socks
The Sun Devils will wear white cleats this week. From left to right, there are three different types of cleats. The first six pairs are a mix of AdiZero and Freaks, and the last two are Nastys. The AdiZero cleats are typically worn by speed position players (wide receivers and defensive backs), while the Freaks have a hybrid element and can be worn by mid-size players (fullbacks, linebackers, and tight ends), and the Nasty cleats are worn by heavier players (linemen).
From left to right, the pair furthest to the left is the Freak Ultra Laceless. It features a white sole and white base with a maroon pixel gradient pattern around the bottom of the shoe and a primeknit center outlined by a maroon-lined starburst pattern. As the name suggests, this cleat does not have any laces but instead has three maroon adidas stripes where the laces would usually be. It is rounded out with a maroon Freak logo on the heel of the cleat. The next pair is an AdiZero, which features a white base and sole, a maroon tongue, maroon laces, three maroon adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe, and a prominent maroon AdiZero logo with a digital ghost effect on the instep near the arch. It also has a maroon finger loop on the heel. The third is the AdiZero Scorch, which is a Primeknit mid-top. It is white on the outside of the shoe and on the sole, but more prominently maroon on the instep and throughout the rest of the top of the shoe. The maroon instep features a maroon tonal AdiZero logo with a digital ghost effect and a maroon finger loop on the heel.
There are two more pairs of adidas Freaks in the middle of the group of cleats. The Freak pair on the left is the Freak mid. It has a white base and maroon sole, white laces, a white tongue with a maroon Freak logo on it, three maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the cleat near the toe, and a prominent maroon adidas logo on the instep. The Freak pair on the right is the Freak Ultra. It features all of the major base aesthetics as the Freak Mid but also features some gray primeknit material, maroon stitch detailing around the lace eyelets, and a maroon finger loop on the heel. The next pair is the third AdiZero pair. All of the major elements of this pair of cleats are white except for the three maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the shoe near the toe and the maroon adidas log on the instep.
The final two pairs on the right are Nasty cleats. The second to last pair is the Nasty Torsion. It is a heavier-duty cleat with a white base and sole, white laces, white eyelets with maroon accents, a white tongue with a maroon Nasty logo on it, three maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the cleat, a maroon adidas logo on the inside of the cleat near the heel, a small plastic maroon plate on the arch, and a maroon and gold finger loop that mimics the styling of the lace eyelets. The far-right pair is the Nasty Fly. It essentially shares all the same major details as the Nasty Torsion; however it is not as heavy-duty, and instead of a white sole, it features a metallic maroon sole.
Many players will be wearing these new release white Adizero cleats that have the same characteristics as the white and maroon AdiZero cleats pictured above, except that everything is white. They feature a white base and sole, a white tongue, maroon laces, three white adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe, and a prominent white, reflective AdiZero logo with a digital ghost effect on the instep near the arch. They also have a white finger loop on the heel.
The Sun Devils will wear white socks to match the cleats.
Gloves
The Sun Devils will wear maroon and white gloves, and as with the cleats, there are different gloves for different positions. The gloves on the top are AdiZeros, which are typically worn by speed position players like wide receivers and defensive backs. The maroon gloves feature a maroon pitchfork with gold trim on the palm of each glove. They also have gold vent specks and a gold adidas logo on the back of the hand, gold seams around the wrist, and gold lining around the maroon wrist strap, which features the AdiZero word mark and a gold arrow.
The gloves in the middle are adidas Freaks, worn by larger skill position players such as linebackers and tight ends. The maroon adidas Freak gloves feature the same maroon pitchfork palm design as the AdiZero, gold seams around the wrist, a gold adidas logo on the back of the hand, and a maroon mesh with small gold holes. Finally, for linemen, the gloves on the bottom are adidas Freak-Max, which boast extra padding on the heel of the palm meant to withstand all of the contact that linemen endure throughout the course of a game. They are plain white with black padding on the palm and along with a maroon adidas logo on the back of the hand; they also have gold accents on the knuckles and the black wrist-wrap.
Reaction
This is a good, classic away color combination that I know that players are excited to wear. This gold/white/gold colorway has been the longest-used road uniform combination for ASU, as the gold/white/maroon look didn’t really come into existence until the 90s. The white pitchfork with maroon trim matches the away uniform well and pairs well with the white facemask, though I would prefer to see a bit more maroon. That’s where the center stripe comes in to save the day. The primarily maroon center stripe raises this from being a mediocre to a very good gold lid. It also proves again just how important having a center stripe on the helmet is to the overall look.
This combination is a connection to all generations of Sun Devil football. Whether it’s gold/white/maroon or this week’s gold/white/gold, ASU teams are now wearing the same thing that their predecessors did on the road. Arizona State is typically not a great road team, and the path to a road victory is not getting any easier with a trip to Utah this weekend. However, there has been more success in this traditional look than there has been in the polarizing Whiteout uniforms. So, even with a tough road test ahead, we can look out there and see a winning uniform combination. Hopefully, that translates into a win on the field. Don’t be surprised if the Devils give Utah more of a game than they may be expecting.
What Color Traveling ASU Fans Should Wear: Maroon or Gold
#Faniforms Presented by Cactus Sports
Welcome back to #Faniforms Presented by Cactus Sports! Uniformity loves to highlight your best gameday #faniforms that you wear to support the Sun Devils each week. As a reminder, with Uniformity’s partnership with Cactus Sports, three #faniforms will be chosen at random each week, just like in the past, but this season, there will be a weekly Twitter poll to vote for which of those three #faniforms will become a contest finalist. At the end of the regular season, all of the finalists will be entered into a final vote, with the grand prize being a $125 gift card to Cactus Sports! Reminder: when posting to Twitter, remember to use the hashtag #faniform and tag the Uniformity Twitter account @ASU_Uniformity. Here are this week’s selections! Keep an eye out on Twitter for the fan vote! Cast your vote for the best #faniform each week!
Congratulations to @16thholedevil on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @MrGabeRamos, @matt_joanes, and @JoLoPHX in this week’s Twitter and Instagram poll!
